Mitsuko's Box
by KazukiLuvr
Summary: Mitsuko is participating in the Seiso Academy concours. But as things go along, new friendships, rivalries, romances, styles, secrets, and more develop. A romantic comedy. KazukixOC, HinoxTsukimori
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note: Hello everyone! So this is my first La Corda D'oro fanfic. Please note that it is NOT KazukixHino, it's a KazukixOC story. If you don't like the pairing, then you don't need to read it. Anyways, a new girl, Mitsuko, is going to be a participant in the Concours. Because the story starts off with not much of a background, I recommend you go to read the manga or watch the anime before reading this fic.**_

_**So, before you read this, I want you to check out my PROFILE and read about the competition I'm writing this for. It's a very friendly contest; my friend, Faifan15, challenged me to write a KazukixOC fic and see who gets the most votes. As each chapter goes along, you can vote on my profile which story you like better so far. Check out what the rules for the contest are on my profile. Thanks! XD **_

_**Unfortunately, this chapter's a little shorter than I would have liked…but I'm developing my own style (read on to know what I'm talking about)! I hope that the future chapters will be longer.  
**_

_**Most of the dialogue is my own (meaning I tweaked the original).**_

_**DISCLAIMER: I do not own La Corda D'oro or any of its characters. All rights belong to the author and other respective rightholders. Thank you!

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_One month._ I thought, my fingers trembling as they brushed the surface of the grand piano in the rehearsal room. _It's been a month since I found out I was going to be in the concours._ I sat down on the bench, relieved that it was still early. _I have time to practice…_I sighed, and rested my fingertips on the keys, taking a deep breath and let my soul detach from my body…

"Mitsuko-san!" I stopped playing abruptly at the sound of such a familiar voice, and spun around to face the door. Azuma stood in the doorway, a shimmering white tuxedo hanging over his right arm. "Aren't you going to change? People are arriving already." He informed me, and smiled warmly. "I hope you brought a change of clothes…I don't think your usual is going to be suitable enough."

"No, don't worry about me, Azuma-san." I assured him. "I'm sure what I brought is formal enough for the occasion. You're going to look great in that." I said, motioning towards the white tux. I looked past him into the hallway. "Is everyone else here already?" I asked.

Azuma shook his head, and his lavender-colored hair seemed to be caught in the breeze. "Shoko and Shimizu are here already, but I haven't seen Len or Hino. And I know for a fact that Kazuki is going to be late, as always." He chuckled sweetly. "But he'll show up right before the competition begins. Most of the time he can get away with it, however, I think he's going to be the second person performing today."

"Oh no!" I gasped. "Should we call him? He can't be late for this—everyone's been waiting for it!"

Azuma laughed out loud—a beautiful, melodious sound. _Even his laughter sounds musical…how will I compete with true musicians like these?_ I thought. A simple response rang loud, crisp, and clear in my mind: _Follow your heart._ Azuma shook his head, and another shower of purple brightened the room. "Don't worry. I don't know how, but he always manages to get away with being late."

I sighed. "That's good to know."

Azuma and I stood like that, wallowing in an awkward silence. I was about to say something stupid—anything to stop the awkwardness—but luckily, Azuma spoke first. "Are you alright? You look really nervous. Normally, you're a lot more talkative." He pointed out.

"I…" _How can I tell him that it's more than just nervousness?_ I wondered. _A person like him—so perfect, so accomplished—he doesn't have these problems. He'd never understand. _Instead of throwing all of my emotions at him in self-pity, I said, "Nervousness. That's it. It just that…my piece…" I stuttered.

"Is it hard?" He asked me.

"Oh, no. Not at all, really. It's only two pages long, but it's beautiful." I sighed, letting the notes of my piece fill my ears, wondering if it fit the theme. _It's a romance, and since the theme is 'close to heart', it should suit it perfectly._ I decided. "The only problem I have with it is that I don't know if the judges will like the fact that it's so short and simple."

Yunoki's quietly confident expression softened. He sat down on the bench next to me, and put a hand on my shoulder. "I used to face problems similar to yours." He said. _What? This guy?_ "If I hadn't found a way to deal with them, I'd still be facing them today. If you think your piece is too short, or too simple, then your doubtfulness will show when you play." He said. My cheeks flushed. _He's right…_ "So, that means that the only thing you can do is face the challenges and play as well as you can, and try your best."

"That's true." I whispered.

Azuma smiled and stood up. "And besides, by playing a piece that is different from what most people would play, you're developing your own style. A lot of the time, judges like musicians who have their own sense of how music should be played. So just try your hardest, and you're sure to succeed." He patted my back. Without looking back at me, he said, "Good luck, Mitsuko-san. Don't spend too much time practicing; you need to get ready. Just relax. You'll do well." And then he was gone.

I nodded, playing his words in my mind over and over again. Without hesitating, I stood up and grabbed my bag, quickly going through it to make sure everything was there. I opened the door and briskly made my way down the hall to the girl's changing room, closing the door behind me and setting my bag on the single chair. I quickly undressed and threw on my concert attire—a dress that was far too formal for my taste—and stood in front of the mirror, taking a handful of the cloth and spreading it out.

Like the piece I was going to play, my dress was simple—for a formal dress, that is. It stopped at my knees, and was a low-cut v-neck, but wasn't flattering in any way. The only trace of design and decoration was the belt of silky sakura flowers that began at my right hip and finished at the left-hand corner of the dress. I dressed it up by wearing a rose-quartz necklace and matching earrings, and a pair of heels (which I found very uncomfortable). _Like Azuma said: I'm developing my own style. _I smiled at the thought.

I combed my short brown hair with my fingers (since I had forgotten my brush), grabbed my bag, and flung open the door, nearly running right into Hino Kahoko, one of my competitors, and yet, a friend. "Hino!" I gasped. "I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"

She smiled weakly, eyeing my dress. "Er, yes! I'm fine. Um…the dress you're wearing…are we…?" She sputtered. I wished I could understand what she was trying to say.

"Good morning, Hino-san." Yunoki greeted warmly, wearing his silky white tuxedo. I smiled at him, hardly noticing Hino's mortified expression. "Oh!" He said, noticing her regular school uniform. "The girl's changing room is down the hall. Someone's coming out of it right now." He pointed. Hino's expression twisted into confusion.

Shouko walked out, in a very long, very drapey dress that made her look like a princess. She noticed us looking at her, and blushed furiously. "Good morning, Hino-senpai, Yunoki-senpai, and Mitsuko-senpai." She said softly.

Hino's face turned red as she noticed Shouko's clothing, and in a sudden movement, she ran into the girl's changing room and slammed the door behind her. Azuma, Shouko, and I stood in silence, wondering why she was acting so strangely. _Maybe she forgot to bring something to wear…_ I thought. _But how could she have done that?!_

Just then, I heard footsteps coming down the hall. Yunoki chuckled lightly as we watched Kazuki sprint to the changing room—the _girls'_ changing room. "Ah! Kazuki…"

He didn't stop to listen to what I had to say, and pushed the door open, yelling, "Crap, I'm late!" He froze for a moment, staring straight ahead. Then, taking a step back, he closed the door, and reopened it. He rubbed the back of his neck in confusion. "M-my eyes were playing tricks on me!" He said, and I could imagine what Hino might have been thinking at the moment.

"Hihara, that's the girls' changing room." Kanazawa-sensei came up behind Kazuki, rolling his eyes in disbelief.

Kazuki stiffened, and Yunoki and I burst into laughter. _Just relax. You'll do well.

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The order in which we were to perform was decided: Keiichi, the first-year cellist, would be going first, then Kazuki, the spirited trumpeter, followed by Shouko, the bashful clarinet player, next would be Yunoki, the polite flutist, then Hino, the sweet violinist, afterwards, Len, the cold-hearted violinist with a musical background, and lastly, me.

"Alright, everyone. Please try your hardest." Kanazawa-sensei had told us. "The first free-selection piece concours has begun!"

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_**So, yes! It's done! Now, go ahead and read "The Difference Between You and I" by Faifan15, or, if you already have, jump to my profile and vote on which first chapter is better--hers or mine. *wink***_


	2. UPDATE

~UPDATE~

Wow, I can't even believe how long it's been since I was last active here on FFnet! It's really a relief to be back, because I've missed everyone and am hoping to jump right back into updating my stories.

**The reason for my long absence from the website is the fact that I had to deal with a few family issues. Nothing too serious since they're all resolved now, but serious enough to keep me away from the computer for months and months (okay, I lied. It was serious XD). **

**I'd like to thank AmericanBornChinese for all her support the whole way through my hiatus, as well as AnimeViolinist. And to my good friends here, I hope it doesn't take too long to catch up with whatever I missed out on! x)**

**This obviously isn't an official chapter, as I'm not quite done with writing the real thing yet, but I only posted it as a chapter in my stories because I want to let everyone know I'm back, and whatever promises I made before I went on hiatus can be fulfilled now. **

**I look forward to speaking to you all soon~!**

KAZUKILUVR


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